"I do hope this ballet will be upsetting," says Peter Schaufuss of his hong Kong Arts Festival production, Midnight Express. "Audiences are used to seeing something different from us." <P><BR><B>Unfortunately the original link is now broken</B> <P><BR><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited July 21, 2002).]

I'm sorry, I dont' mean to be "cheeky". But when I heard about a Midnight Express ballet....I had this vision of a man doing whiplash fast chainee turns to that "Midnight Express" theme music and being chased by his jailers...Does anybody remember that music;it was very catchy and mesmerizing. I think it occured it the movie when he (main character)was trying to escape and was being pursued by his captors.

I saw both programmes - Schaufuss' "Midnight Express" and his Tchaikovsky Trilogy on three successive evenings - which were quite well received here. "Midnight Express", the more successful of the two, is a spectacular production. Schaufuss' choreography was more effective for the ensembles than for the main roles.<P>Nutcracker was the most effective of the three Tchaikovksy ballets which all lasted only 2 hours in length, as it is more suitable for adaptation than Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty. Schaufuss' new choreography was inferior to the authentic choreography. None of the leading roles were outstanding. And each classic in Schaufuss' hands gives the feel more of 'dance theatre' than a showcase for classical ballet. I prefer Derek Deane's arena versions of the classics for ENB and also Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake for AMP.<P><p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited March 24, 2001).]

I have a feature article on Peter Schaufuss published in this weekend's "Asian Wall Street Journal". The newspaper's articles cannot be viewed on its website except by subscribers. Criticaldance members in Asia and Australia may buy a copy if interested. <P>Schaufuss will premiere a new ballet, based on Hans Christian Andersen, in Denmark on 30 March<P><p>[This message has been edited by Kevin Ng (edited March 29, 2001).]

I've been looking back through the Dancing Times and have found an article from last year which remains of interest:<P><B>The Success of Schaufuss</B><BR>by Mary Clarke for The Dancing Times<P><BR>The old adage that nothing succeeds like success is clearly demonstrated by the progress Peter Schaufuss has made since he went to Holstebro in Jutland, Denmark, to set up a ballet company there. In four years he has not only built up an enthusiastic audience in the many towns and cities in Denmark where the company performs but also has been offered an entirely new building to house that company and its school in Holstebro and, most recently, has been asked to form a second company, to be based in Aarhus on the eastern side of Jutland — Holstebro is on the west. The local authorities in Aarhus have given a four year grant for the formation of this company which will be independent but run in close association with the company in Holstebro. The companies should be able to join together, perhaps once a year, in a big production involving some 45-40 dancers.<P><A HREF="http://www.dancing-times.co.uk/dancingtimes1101-2.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR>

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